John Ricciardi

Japan Correspondent / Editor · Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) · 1994–2004 · American

John Ricciardi was an editor at EGM whose specialism was Japanese games, before he moved to Tokyo and co-founded the localisation studio 8-4.

John Ricciardi covered Japanese games for EGM at the peak of the magazine's influence, reporting on releases, developers, and hardware that would not reach the West for months or years. His coverage appeared in the "EGM Japan" section and gave American readers substantive information about the Saturn's Japanese library, import PlayStation titles, and the Tokyo Game Show before the event became an international fixture. Ricciardi later co-founded 8-4 in Tokyo, a localisation studio that has translated many major Japanese releases for Western markets, translating his journalism expertise into direct industry contribution.

Notable Work:

EGM Japan section coverage through the late 1990s — the primary Western source for Japanese game release information during the PlayStation era
Tokyo Game Show reporting that helped introduce the event to American readers before Western press coverage became standard
Co-founded 8-4 Ltd. in Tokyo, a localisation studio that has translated dozens of major Japanese games for Western release

Key Facts:

His EGM Japan column was one of the few regular American print features covering Japanese-exclusive games with serious depth
8-4, the localisation company he co-founded, has become one of the most respected Japanese-to-English game translation studios
His dual career as journalist and localiser makes him unusual among games media figures in translating critical knowledge into production work

John Ricciardi

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